Managing Defined Fields in WebReports

Defined Fields allow administrators to create reusable user-specific values for filtering, security, and personalized reporting.

A Defined Field is also sometimes referred to as a User Defined Field or UDF.

How Defined Fields are used

Defined Fields can be used to:

Restrict report data by department, region, team, client, or another user-specific value.
Automatically filter report results for the signed-in user.
Supply user-specific values to VDM Views and database functions.
Reduce the need to create separate versions of the same report.

For example, a Defined Field named Department can provide a different department value for each user. Reports can reference that value to return only the applicable data.

Open the Defined Fields page

Sign in to WebReports.
Select Management.
Select Defined Fields.

The page displays the following columns:

Name — The name displayed to WebReports administrators.
Query Identifier — The identifier referenced by VDM queries, filters, or database functions.
Description — An explanation of the field’s purpose.

Use the search box to find a Defined Field by name, query identifier, or description.

Add a Defined Field

Select Add.
A blank editable row appears at the top of the table.
Enter the field’s Name.
Enter its Query Identifier.
Enter a Description.
Select Save.

Select Cancel to discard the new row without saving it.

Use clear, consistent Query Identifiers. Changing an identifier later may affect VDM Views, filters, or database functions that reference it.

Edit a Defined Field

Select the Defined Field you want to change.
Select Edit.
Update its Name, Query Identifier, or Description directly in the table.
Select Save.

Select Cancel to discard your changes.

Before changing a Query Identifier, verify whether it is referenced by any VDM Views, filters, or database functions.

Delete a Defined Field

Select the Defined Field you want to remove.
Select Delete.
Verify that the correct field is selected.
Confirm the deletion when prompted.

Deleting a Defined Field may affect user assignments, report filters, VDM Views, and database functions that reference it. Verify that the field is no longer in use before deleting it.

Assign a Defined Field to a user

Creating a Defined Field makes it available in WebReports. A value must then be assigned to each applicable user.

To assign a value:

Open Management → Users.
Select the user.
Select Edit.
Open Select user defined fields.
Select the field and enter the user-specific value.
Select OK.
Select Save Changes.

For the complete user-management workflow, see Managing Users in WebReports.

Best practices

Use descriptive field names and descriptions.
Follow a consistent naming convention for Query Identifiers.
Document fields used for security or data filtering.
Check dependencies before editing or deleting a field.
Remove fields that are no longer used.